Worcester hotel overlooking Union Station a step closer with pending land sale

WORCESTER – There are still some I’s to be dotted and T’s to be crossed, but the price is right and a deal is moving forward for the city to sell a parcel of land off of Washington Square rotary to a hotel developer.

The Worcester Redevelopment Authority Friday directed deputy city solicitor Michael Traynor to finalize the sale of a 40,700-square-foot property for $150,000 to the First Bristol Corp. of Fall River.

First Bristol plans to use the property in conjunction with another parcel it already owns to build a 120-room hotel overlooking Union Station, the rotary and Interstate-290, though city officials stressed that the building would not interfere with the view of the iconic railroad station.

City Manager Edward Augustus, Jr., told MassLive the agreement is a “pretty big deal” especially combined with the two other hotel projects in consideration as part of the CitySquare development which could bring another 300 hotel rooms to the city.

That will allow the DCU Center to host larger conventions than it can currently accommodate, Augustus said.

Furthermore, he said, special legislation making its way through the state legislature would allow the city to expand the DCU Center district and capture a portion of the hotel and restaurant taxes to fund other needed improvements at the center.

“To me this is ideal,” Augustus said, noting that the shape of the specific parcel near the rotary would be awkward for any stand-alone development and would likely require access directly onto the rotary, instead of on adjacent roads as proposed in the combined development.

So the proposed sale price, Augustus said, is reasonable, even though it’s lower than the roughly $300,000 assessed value.

“It’s a slight discount,” he said. “But if you actually look at the parcel, you have to ask yourself who would buy it, what’s the true market value?”

The deal, Augustus said, will bring an empty building and some city land on to the tax rolls, while also adding $150,000 to the city’s coffers.

“To me that’s a good day,” he said.

Augustus also said that the deal is a sign of the momentum the city has moving forward with CitySquare plans and other developments, especially because there are no public funds being used in the hotel plan.

“They’re not seeking any public subsidies,” he said. “That’s a sign of vitality of the market, people looking at coming in with strictly private plans.”